Course Six: Capstone: Applying Project Management in the Real World Flashcards
Accountability
Refers to being responsible for decisions associated with a project or task
Alignment
Reaching agreement between two or more parties
Artifact
A project management document
Behavioral questions
In an interview, these questions ask the interviewee to share an example when they had to practice a particular skill
Benchmarking:
Refers to evaluating success against a standard
Benefits
The expected gains of a project
Beta distribution (PERT)
A three-point estimation formula that takes into account that the “most likely” case is more likely to occur, so it gives it more weight
Budget
An estimate of the amount of money allocated to complete the project
Closed-ended question
A type of question that can be answered with a single response, like “yes or no” and “true or false”
Coalition
A temporary alliance or partnering of individuals or groups in order to achieve a common purpose or to engage in a joint activity
Confidence level rating
An indication of confidence in an estimate’s accuracy
Conger’s four steps
Refers to Jay A. Conger’s four-step approach to effectively persuade and influence another person to consider new ideas: establish credibility, frame for common ground, provide evidence, and connect emotionally
Constructive criticism
A respectful form of feedback that is intended to help the recipient improve a piece of work
Costs
The money spent on project tasks as well as prices of things like time, resources, and labor
Deliverables
Specific tasks and tangible outcomes that enable the team to meet project goals
Dependency
A relationship between two project tasks, where the start or completion of one depends on the start or completion of the other
Domain knowledge
Knowledge of a specific industry, topic, or activity
Effort estimate
The actual time it takes to complete a task
Empathy
The ability to understand and feel what others are feeling
Elevator pitch
A quick professional summary of yourself
Evaluation
The act of observing, measuring, and then comparing findings to a set of agreed-upon criteria
Evaluation indicator
The specific type of data that needs to be collected to help answer an evaluation question
Evaluation presentation
A presentation that examines how well your project is working according to a set of standards
Evaluation question
A key question about the outcomes, impact, and/or effectiveness of a project or program
Executive summary
A few sentences to a paragraph that describe a project’s purpose and outcome; provides an overview of the main points of a larger report
Factual questions
In an interview, these questions aim to assess the interviewee on knowledge of basic project management skills
Good product hygiene:
Refers to compiling all links and documentation into one place for historical purposes
Hypothetical questions
In an interview, these questions present a scenario to assess the interview on how they would go about working through that experience
Impact report
A presentation guided by a deck or slideshow that shows key stakeholders the value that’s been added by the project
Influence
Refers to how much power a stakeholder has and how much their actions affect the project outcome
Interest
Refers to how much the stakeholder’s needs will be affected by project operations and outcomes
Key accomplishments
The section of the executive summary that discusses which activities, tasks, and milestones helped your project find success
Lessons learned
The section of the executive summary that discusses potential improvements and how future processes will be changed for the better
Micromanaging
Refers to when a manager too closely observes, controls, or continuously reminds the people they’re managing of the work they’ve been assigned
Milestones
Important points within the schedule that indicate progress
Most likely estimate
An estimate for a task that assumes some issues might occur based on how long the task usually takes under normal circumstances
Multiple choice question
A closed-ended question that has several answer choices
Mutual benefit
Refers to when all parties involved gain some kind of benefit or advantage
Objective criteria
Standards by which something can be judged based on neutral information like market value, research findings, previously-documented experience, or laws and regulations
Objectives and key results (OKRs)
A combination of a goal and a metric to determine a measurable outcome
One-pager
A one-page document that provides an overview of your project
Open-ended question
A type of question that requires more than a one-word answer; asks respondents to answer in their own words
Optimistic estimate
An estimate for a task that assumes the best-case scenario—that issues will not occur
Out-of-scope
Details that are not included in the project plan and don’t contribute to the project’s goal
Overhead
The business expenses not directly attributed to creating a product or service
Pessimistic estimate
An estimate for a task that assumes the worst-case scenario—that issues will definitely occur
Power-interest grid
A chart that provides clarity about whom to prioritize and how best to approach negotiations with each stakeholder
Project charter
A formal document that clearly defines the project and outlines the necessary details to reach the project’s goals
Project closeout report
A document created by project managers for project managers, future project managers, and anyone interested in the project elements and artifacts
Project goals
The desired results of the project
Project plan
Documentation that defines the scope, tasks, milestones, budget, and overall activities in order to keep the project on track
Project summary
A brief overview of the project that outlines the project goals
Project vision
The section of the executive summary that specifies the need the project is fulfilling
Quality assurance
A review process that evaluates whether the project is moving toward delivering a high-quality service or product; also known as QA
Quality control
The techniques that are used to ensure quality standards are maintained when a problem is identified; also known as QC
Quality management plan
Documentation of all the information needed to effectively manage quality throughout the project life cycle;
defines the policies, processes, and criteria for project quality as well as the roles and responsibilities for carrying them out
Quality planning
The process that the project manager or team establishes and follows for identifying and determining exactly which standards of quality are relevant to the project as a whole and how to satisfy them
Quality standards
The requirements and specifications that a product or service must meet in order to be considered successful by the organization and the customer
Retrospective:
A workshop or meeting that gives project teams time to reflect on a project
Scaled question:
A closed-ended question that provides more than two options and asks the respondent to rate their answers on a scale
Scope
The boundaries of a project
Slide-based presentation
A series of digital slides used to visually present information
SMART action item or goal
A task that is specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound
Stakeholder analysis
A visual representation of all stakeholders
Stakeholder management
The process of maintaining good relationships with the people who have the most influence on one’s work
STAR method
A way of organizing a response to an interview question following a story-like structure; stands for: situation, task, action, and result
Storytelling
The process of turning facts into narrative to communicate something to an audience
Summary sheet
A one- or two-page write-up with just the most relevant information
Survey
A tool used to evaluate and measure the quality of a project’s process, goal, or deliverable
Synthesizing
Refers to gathering information from multiple sources and using those points to help form an analysis
Three-point estimating
A technique used to help determine the most realistic time estimate for a task
Time estimation
A prediction of the total amount of time required to complete a task
Total duration estimate
An effort estimate, plus any other factors, like getting approvals, prep work, testing, and so on
Triangular distribution
A three-point estimation formula in which the weight of each estimate is identical, meaning the “most likely” case does not affect the final estimate more than the optimistic or pessimistic estimates
